BIG BLUE HIGHWAY – At the end of the road, SuperGate08 was one Giant community – and not just because Eli Manning made like a modern day Joe Namath and pulled off the greatest Super Bowl upset of them all.

This became a Giants Family in the Desert. And the Giants’ 17-14 victory over the Patriots was the exclamation point to the weekend.

“You think the Giants won? Man, we won, too,” said Mt. Vernon firefighter Mike Brown, who came out here with seven of his buddies. “We came out like champs. I’m going home with only $80 in my pocket, but it was worth every penny.”

Brown and his buddies scored tickets by being typical New Yorkers.

When they ran into a NFL hospitality person at a Denny’s they asked if he could help them find tickets. He said he couldn’t and they said, “Buddy, thanks for the hospitality.”

The fellow had a change of heart and they were put in touch with someone who made their Giants Journey all worth it. They were able to buy eight tickets a few hours before the game for only $100 over face value and the seats were prime, in the Oasis area of University of Phoenix Stadium.

That included the drinks and food. “Hey, no draft beer for me, I went for the Ketel One,” Brown said. There were similar stories like that in the parking lot yesterday morning as I walked space to space.

You probably haven’t heart of Joe Cahn, but he is the official Commissioner of Tailgating. Yes, there is such a thing. What he really is a modern day philosopher of the tailgating road map and he put this world in perfect perspective.

Tailgating is more than relaxing and having fun or taking care of the gray water.

“Tailgating is the last great American neighborhood,” Cahn told me. “You can go in everyone’s backyard, there are no privacy fences. This is a family operation.”

As a result, you meet all different types of people and eat all kinds of foods. Who would have known that the Raiders Nation guys, the ones with the Silver and Black painted faces, are some of the friendliest people on earth? Kingsford Kirk and I will meet at his stadium next year, but I am not painting my face.

Who would have thought I would eat raccoon, and venison brats, courtesy of the Green Bay dynamic duo? And yes, raccoon tastes better than chicken, especially with a Sun Drop and Windsor.

Jay DiEugenio, the Tailgate Guy, said life is all about the four Fs – “food, friends, family and football.” He lives what he says and at that moment was making breakfast for about 25 people, frying up eggs, bacon and hash browns before the RVers hit the road.

What did this trip mean to John Vingara, part of the Big Blue BBQ that also came up with tickets at the final hour? “This is like my bucket list,” he said. “This is something I just had to do. What a great experience.”

Noted firefighter Mike DeMaseio: “You’re a football fan your whole life and you finally get a chance to experience something like the Super Bowl, it’s overwhelming. That’s why I’m looking forward to Tampa.”

Fellow firefighter Pete Barbieri said all their friends thought they “were crazy.” Turns out they were crazy like a Fox Network executive.

By 12:30 yesterday morning, the parking lot had cleared. Jay the Tailgate Guy sounded his horn as he left and I was home alone in my El Monte RV. Soon it would be time to start home.

I thought back to the words of Commissioner Cahn, who is always on the road, and tailgated at 47 different games this year. “The friends you make on the blacktop are friends for life,” he said. “They will help you through troubled times and will celebrate the good times.”

That’s what this week was for me in many ways. It was a difficult week, but new friends were made. There will be bumps in the road ahead, but there will be times you are riding on air.